Micky Phillips looks back on another footballing campaign with his metaphorical microscope and tells us what happened in the 1985/1986 campaign across the Manderwood Pembrokeshire Football League . . .
 
Division One – Seasiders finally tame The Tigers
 
Defending champions Carew got off to a disastrous start suffering three defeats in their first six games and despite beating last year’s runners up Goodwick United 3-2, they lost back to back games against Johnston 6-0 (Dean Boswell (3), Mark Goodridge (2), Chris Walters)  and New Hedges/ Saundersfoot 2-1 (Richard Eastlake, Neil Webb/Gerald Hicks).
 
Early season pace setters were Hakin United, Fishguard Sports and Pennar Robins with the Robins being the last team to remain unbeaten, eventually losing on 9/11 by 3-0 at home to Johnston with a John Codd brace and Richard James scoring for the visitors.


 
NHS go top in late November . . .
 
New Hedges/Saundersfoot went top on 16/11 following a 4-1 victory against Fishguard Sports, a position they held right to the end of the season, only losing one game in 21 with that being a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Monkton Swifts, who at the time sat second from bottom of the table. Peter Hughes scored the lone home goal though the Swifts would eventually finish second from bottom and thus be relegated.
 
Oddly enough, the only other loss suffered by New Hedges in the season was a 2-1 defeat against the other relegated side, Manorbier United. This had taken place back in September when United goals for Philip Scale and Joey Lydon cancelled out a lone Dai Cope strike for the visitors.



 
. . . And stay there with 12-match unbeaten run
 
Following the Monkton defeat, New Hedges/Saundersfoot had gone on a 12-game unbeaten run until the end of the season although six of these games had ended in draws. However notable victories during this period were` a 5-0 victory against Goodwick United (Gary McNeilly (2), Phil Nicholls (2), Richard Eastlake), and a 3-2 victory against St Ishmaels (Gary McNeilly (2), Neil Webb/Martin Davies, Glyn Griffiths).
 
These results set up a crucial game away to second-placed Johnston on the 16/4. Johnston were three points behind their visitors with a game in hand so it was a must-win game for the hosts. With the scores level at half time Gary McNeilly gave the visitors the lead early in the second half before a rare Gary Stephens goal direct from a corner equalised. John Stenson and Dai Cope added further goals for the visitors and their second title in three years was confirmed with a 2-0 victory away to Fishguard Sports on the final Saturday of the season with John Stenson and Dai Cope again scoring the goals.
 
Tigers take second spot – and Swifts go down!
 
Johnston secured the runners up spot with a 5-0 victory over Pennar Robins with Dean Boswell (2) Steve Hayward, Chris Walters and Richard James being on the scoresheet.
 
At the other end of the table Manorbier United were joined by Monkton Swifts in being relegated with the former only picking up nine points in the season. Six of these were back in September against the eventual champions Saundersfoot 2-1 (see above) and runners up Johnston 3-2 (Joey Lydon, Gary McKeown, Robbie Izzard/Steve Hayward, Steve Naden). Their only other points were gained following a 5-3 win against Hakin United (Joey Lydon 2, Gary McKeown, Joe Kelly 2/Ian Aldred, Steve Youds, OG).
 
At the beginning of April, Monkton had given themselves some hope of avoiding the drop by achieving back to back wins against Carew, 1-0, and against Pennar Robins 2-1 (Adi Phillips, Paul Boswell). However a 2-0 midweek defeat away to Milford United saw them slip back into the relegation places and their demotion was confirmed following a 2-1 away defeat to Goodwick United. David Hayes netted both home goals with Richards Burrows replying for the Swifts.
 
Shock result in Senior Cup
 
Shock of the first round was fourth division St Florence beating first division Narberth 1-0 thanks to a Paul Haywood goal. Defending Champions Johnston beat Withybush 3-0 thanks to Dave Dickenson, Chris Walters and Steve Hayward goals though Solva failed to repeat their heroics of  last year and lost 5-1 at Scotfit for whom Colin Thorpe (2), Gary Ralph (2) and Micky Davies scored the goals with Sean Young replying for the visitors.
 
All games in the second round went to form, although St Florence pushed Scotfit all the way before eventually losing 3-2. Chris Walters (2) and Andy Roach scored the home goals, with Paul Griffiths and Jeremy Clutterbuck replying for the Saints.


 
Athletic win Milford derby to secure surprise semi spot
 
The quarter finals saw three all first division ties with the only team outside the top division, Milford Athletic, causing an upset by defeating their local rivals Milford United 3-0 at Marble Hall with all the goals, from Dai Davies, Martin Robinson and a Mike Evans own goal, coming in the final 10 minutes.
 
Elsewhere St Ishmaels beat Johnston 1-0 in a replay thanks to Martin Davies; New Hedges/Saundersfoot overcame Scotfit by the same score thanks to Dai Cope; and Mike Lewis and Jeremy Morris goals gave Carew a 2-0 victory against Monkton Swifts.


 
Carew beat NHS in semis and then are too strong for Tish
 
In the semis Carew beat New Hedges/Saundersfoot 3-1, whilst two Glyn Griffiths goals saw St Ishmaels beat Milford Athletic 2-1, with Phil Morgan replying for the Athletic.
 
The final at the Bridge Meadow saw the scores level at half time before two Kevin Hughes goals gave Carew the lead. Mark Davies pulled one back for St Ishmaels with five minutes to go but it was not enough to deny Carew a second Senior Cup win in three years.
 


Division Two – Athletic win silverware but miss out on double as Solva’s Nobby strikes!
 
Milford Athletic followed up their success in the Senior Cup by winning the Second division, ending up six points clear of nearest challengers Kilgetty. They clinched the title with a 4-0 midweek win away to Hakin United II, whilst Kilgetty lost 2-1 away to Solva on the same night. Matches between the two had resulted in two Kilgetty wins; a 3-2 away win in September (Tim Phillips, Ian Barrett/Colin Keeley, Ronnie Hurst, Gary Lumley) and a 1-0 home win thanks to a Jeff Allsop goal.
 
The Athletic failed to complete the double by losing out in the divisional cup final 3-2 to Solva with Nobby Howells netting the winning goal for the north county side. Solva had beaten Kilgetty 2-0 in the semi-final, thanks to two Nick Skudder goals, whilst the Athletic easily overcame Johnston II 4-1 in the other semi thanks to four first half goals from Tim Phillips, Derek Rees, Derek Nicholas and Martin Robinson.
 
Division Three – Robins’ Seconds secure silverware . . .
 
Division Three saw five teams vie for the title; Pennar Robins II, Angle, Tenby, Pembroke Boro and New Hedges/Saundersfoot II.  On the 15/3 Pennar took control of the chase with a 1-0 victory over third place Angle, thanks to a John Brockway goal, with Tenby losing to 2-1 at Lamphey on the same day (Dai Stanley, Paul Phillips/Nicky Lloyd). A week later, with Pennar Robins in the divisional cup semi-final, Angle dropped further points with a 5-0 defeat to Pembroke Boro (Mike Brace 3, David Gibby, Steve Callen) whilst Tenby, despite at one stage leading by three goals, were pegged back by St Clears II with the final score being 4-4. A Dai Pick hat trick and Dai Lewis scored for the home team, with Nicky Lloyd, Peter Rossi, Derek Glover and Richard James scoring for the Boro.
 
With two games to go Pennar Robins were in pole position and a 6-0 midweek win against Milford Athletic II virtually ensured promotion although the championship was not guaranteed until 19/4 when Angle dropped points away to  bottom of the table RAF Brawdy II with a 1-1 draw. Gary Holiday had scored for The Airmen with Hayden Phillips scoring for the visitors. Tenby meantime beat Fishguard Sports II 7-2 thanks to goals from Derek Glover (3), Richard James (2), Lee Harries and Gavin Greenhorn, with Richard Lewis and Charlie Howells replying for the Sports. This left both Tenby and Angle on 50 points though Tenby had a far superior goal difference and thus sealed second place.
 
. . . And complete the double against Fishguard Sports Seconds
 
In the Divisional cup final Pennar Robins II completed the double by beating Fishguard Sports II 3-2. Gavin Southcott, Chris Lloyd and Michael Marchant scored for the Robins with Richard Lewis and Gary Strawbridge scoring the goals for the Sports. On their way to the final Pennar had beaten Tenby 2-1 in the first round (Mike McQuillan, Peter Jennings/Roy Groves), Milford Athletic II 2-1 in the second round (Gavin Southcott, Albert Butland/John O’Keefe) and Clarbeston Road IIs by 3-2 in the semi thanks to goals from Albert Butland, Stevie Farron and Terry Davies.
 
Division Four – Saints win last-ditch title but lose out to Withybush in cup final thriller
 
Division 4 saw three teams challenge for the title St Florence, Haverfordwest Cricket Club and Withybush. With four games to go Withybush led the way, four points ahead of the cricketers and six ahead of the Saints, who had two games in hand. Back to back midweek games between the top two were very tight though the cricketers came out on top with a 2-0 win and a 0-0 draw. St Florence kept on winning though the Cricketers went top in their last game following a 5-0 win over Angle II. A Tony Griffiths hat-trick was added to by Dean Cousins and Micky Phillips to secure the points.
 
This left Withybush needing to win their last game to overtake the Cricket Club. They travelled to St Florence on the 19/4 where goals from Paul Heywood, Peter Hall and Brian John cancelled out a lone goal from Nick Elliott, thus ensuring the championship for the Saints and consigning Withybush to another year in Division 4.
 
However they gained some consolation in the Divisional cup where Withybush beat St Florence 3-2 in the final. In the semis they had overcome St Ishmaels II 2-1 thanks to goals from Nigel Pritchard and Andrew Trew although their keeper Dai Smith deserved a mention for his superb performance. In the other semi St Florence had beaten the Cricket Club by the same score thanks to goals from Brian John and Jeremy Clutterbuck with Phil Jones replying.


 
Division Five - Lawrenny start with a bang with league and cup double
 
Division Five saw the two new teams that had entered the league, Crundale and Lawrenny, dominate the season with them only suffering three defeats between them all season.
 
Going into April, Crundale had a five-point advantage over Lawrenny though the latter had four games in hand. In back to back games against each other Lawrenny gained a 2-0 victory in the first set of midweek games and they met again on the following Saturday. This time Crundale gained revenge with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Jeff Dawes and Chris Hine.
 
This defeat saw Lawrenny lose their unbeaten record though they still remained favourites to win the league. A 3-2 win on the following Saturday against the Quarterdeck II (Barry Phillips, Richard Hughes, Dai Arthur/Wayne Baxter 2), was followed up with a midweek 1-1 draw at home to Scotfit II, and a final day 4-0 home win against Cilgerran thanks to a Barry Phillips hat-trick and one from Ian Edwards.
 
In the divisional cup final Lawrenny completed the double with a 2-1 victory over St Clears II thanks to goals from Barry Phillips and Dai Arthur with Nathan Evans replying for the Saints. Crundale had surprisingly lost to Letterston II 3-0 in the first round thanks to goals from Martin Rowlands, Robert Harries and John O’Mahoney. The semis had been two very tight affairs with a Barry Phillips goal giving Lawrenny a narrow 1-0 win over Cilgerran. The other semi went to a replay with St Clears II beating Quarterdeck II 2-0. The first game ended 1-1 with Paul Cairns scoring for the Saints and Adam Bayjoo for the Quarterdeck.
 
West Wales Cup - Sports reach final but just miss out against North End
 
Fishguard Sports and Milford United flew the Pembrokeshire flag in the Intermediate cup meeting each other in the semi-final at the Bridge Meadow. The north County side eventually ran out 3-2 winners thanks to two goals from Ian Bell and a Derek Burgess penalty. In the final they narrowly lost to Swansea side North End 1-0 although they were convinced they had scored, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. The Sports had beaten Malster Sports in the quarter final 1-0 thanks to a Kevin White goal whilst Milford had beaten Gorseinon Athletic at the same stage.